We had a few reasons for doing it. One: We wanted to position it better, give it a lot of time. The main reason: We really wanted to polish the game up, make it everything Obsidian planned it to be, and give the consumer a very polished game. "We added a couple of other things. Tweaks in lighting here and there, added the inventory comparison screen so you can compare what you're buying to what you have equipped. Just bringing the whole quality level up.

I would much rather wait a little longer for a polished game that I can enjoy than another Divinity 2 in a state where I can't even play it.

So take all the time you need guys.

— "Chess in particular had always annoyed him. It was the dumb way the pawns went off and slaughtered their fellow pawns while the kings lounged about doing nothing that always got to him; if only the pawns united, maybe talked the rooks around, the whole board could've been a republic in a dozen moves."- Commander Vimes in Thud! by Terry Pratchett

Alright, I admit that the use of the word "polish" was perhaps a bit more polite than what is rightfully warranted but we're talking about Black Isle, uhm I mean, Obsidian here, so Shhhh …..

— "Chess in particular had always annoyed him. It was the dumb way the pawns went off and slaughtered their fellow pawns while the kings lounged about doing nothing that always got to him; if only the pawns united, maybe talked the rooks around, the whole board could've been a republic in a dozen moves."- Commander Vimes in Thud! by Terry Pratchett

Clearly there are problems with AP because publishers do not usually stand in the way of a release when the developers have stated categorically, its finnished. In fact its usually the opposite and the developer wants a bit more time to polish.

I worry about Obsidian product because they have had a fair amount of cancellations and flase starts. I was looking forward to the tactical alien RPG game they dropped a while ago.

Too bad i was hoping AP would hit the spot ME2 failed to reach - for me anyway.

It should also be pointed out that Chris Avellone blogged few months ago that most people have moved on from working on AP, graphic improvements have been made and that the bug lists (if you're willing to trust him) were really short (again, this was a couple of months ago).

So it doesn't seem like SEGA is putting lots of resources into the game at the moment for it to be "uber polished" or whatever. I think at the moment they're looking at when to release it, and (hopefully) to start up a PR campaign for the game before it's released. Matthew Rorie of OEI said a while back that SEGA had hired a new PR firm to handle Alpha Protocol.

EDIT: And while I also think Alien being cancelled was partially due to the cutbacks, some sources (yes, vagueness!) have lead me to believe that it wasn't the smoothest development of a game, though not catastrophic.

Well I hope they get the bugs out with the delay. Based on their history, I think hope is all we can do… Strangely they seemed oblivious to many of the NWN 2 bugs, until pointed out by the community. So having a "short bug list" really means nothing. My perception is that their test team resources and/or methodology has been woefully inadequate.

Originally Posted by Starwars
It should also be pointed out that Chris Avellone blogged few months ago that most people have moved on from working on AP, graphic improvements have been made and that the bug lists (if you're willing to trust him) were really short (again, this was a couple of months ago).

So it doesn't seem like SEGA is putting lots of resources into the game at the moment for it to be "uber polished" or whatever. I think at the moment they're looking at when to release it, and (hopefully) to start up a PR campaign for the game before it's released. Matthew Rorie of OEI said a while back that SEGA had hired a new PR firm to handle Alpha Protocol.

EDIT: And while I also think Alien being cancelled was partially due to the cutbacks, some sources (yes, vagueness!) have lead me to believe that it wasn't the smoothest development of a game, though not catastrophic.

You could be right about why they are delaying the release of AP. However i find it strange a corporation delays anything which can add some nice figures to their quarterly bottom line.